Vegas, SFMM and KBF 7-9 to 7-10

Ms. Dek

Thursday, July 11, 2002 5:38 PM

OK, Teenage Ninja would like more details. :)

Mr. Dek and I are truly crazy. We had a 5 day trip planned to Vegas from Friday 7/5 thru Wed. 7/10, and decided to take a day, to fly to L.A. in the early hours on Monday 7/8, and do SFMM, then fly back at night.

We were both trying to get to 100 coasters, so on Saturday we rented a car and went to Primm to ride Desperado. We arrived in Primm about 11 am and headed right for Desperado. We opted for a single ride because we had heard it was pretty rough. And it was. What a piece of junk that thing is. Rough and painful. We did not enjoy one second of it.

We then ate a little and strolled the outlet mall. For the shoppers in you, don't bother with the mall. Even though the stores are upscale (Calvin Klein, etc.) the merchandise is their low-end stuff. Nothing worth buying.

After driving back in the afternoon, we headed to the Stratosphere. We ate a magnificent meal at the Top of The World restarurant then headed up to the top for the rides. We rode the High Roller which is a cute little coaster, greatly enhanced by how high up it is.

Next we rode the Big Shot, which is by far the most intense, frightening thing I have ever ridden. Honestly a better rush than any coaster for me. Even Mr. Dek, who is normally quite stoic, looked out and said " Oh s--t!" I heard these horrible screams, and reailzed it was me. My knees were shaking when I got off.

All in all, the Strat' rides are a must do when in Vegas.

Now to our Monday whirlwind tour of So. Cal. We got up Monday about 4am to get a 6am flight to L.A. Arriving in L.A. we rented a car and drove to SFMM. We got there about 9am and found the lots closed and about 50 cars waiting in line. We were confused why the lot was closed but waited patiently. About 9:15 they opened the gates and a mad rush began for everyone to get in. We got lucky and parked near the front and caught the shuttle to the front gate. It was already hot (about 90) and riding the shuttle helped a little.

Getting to the gate we went thru security and then waited again until 10am when the main gates opened. From here we started out to hit the back of the park while everyone else headed to Deja Vu. We got on the Orient Express and headed to Ninja. But this was our first surprise - Ninja was closed. So we thought we'd head towards Psyclone but we were told that was closed also. Two coasters; both closed.

Wondering why, we decided to head over to Superman but this was also closed. A few people were there so we decided to wait and it opened in about 15 minutes. So, now our first coaster at SFMM is one of their best - we were psyched. However, we were a little under whelmed. The launch was great but the rest of the ride did little to impress us. We decided to skip a second ride and headed over to Riddler's Revenge and got another nasty surprise - two trains running but only one loading. Every other train was sent out empty. WHY? When we finally got our ride, we were very impressed. I don't usually like stand-ups but really enjoyed this ride.

Next we were going to head to B:TR but guess what? That's right - closed! So, we decided to head back towards Viper. I believe it was at this point we passed GoldRusher and saw it was, you guessed it, closed.

Keep on going but as we passed Psyclone we saw it was now running. Whoo! Whoo! An open ride. Got in line which was a walk-on at this point. We were excited because it looks like Viper at SFGAm. Sadly, it rides like Shockwave at SFGAm. What a horrible ride.

A quick exit from here and over to Viper. I did not ride because it looked like Shockwave at SFGAm. Mr Dek said it was slightly better than that.

Next up was Revolution. While we appreciate the historical significance of this coaster, we should all "revolt" against this it. We both had to put our hands between our heads and the OTSRs to keep our ears from getting crushed.

I wanted to make Goliath my #100 but still needed another ride, so we went to the back of the park and saw that GoldRusher was now running. Great. A quick ride and then over to Collossus and Goliath. A very impressive matched set. Unfortunately only Goliath delivers. Collussus was very disappointing.

With Goliath being my #100 we waited for the front-seat. We had to wait a long time and then found out why - 1 train operation. Again I ask: WHY? Your #1 running coaster and only one train operation. When it was finally our turn to board they decide to add the 2nd train! So, I yell out:

"Please don't add a train until we have ridden! We are from Chicago and we are trying to ride as many coasters as we can in 1 day and we have a flight to catch! " The mechanic looks at me and mumbles, "this will only take a few seconds". Well we all know it took 15 to 20 minutes, and we could have used that 15 minutes later in the day. Jerks.

Anyway, when we finally rode, both Mr. Dek and I grayed out during the helix. VERY intense ride. We took a second lap in the third row and found it to be just as intense. A great ride.

We did end up riding B:TR because they opened it right after our second Goliath ride and Mr. DEK needed it to help get to 100. But it was now about 2pm and we were getting pressed for time.

Overall I gotta say, SFMM did not impress. When they opened at 10 am, there were 4 coasters closed, 6 if you count X and FlashBack. And to add insult to injury, they were only running 1 train on Goliath and Riddler.

Goldrusher: Better than we thought it would be but were not mine ride lovers. Enough said. Rating: 5/10.

Colossus - Not a good woody. I guess SFMM doesn't know how to do wooden? Rating: 4/10

Psyclone: Junk. Can you say firewood? Rating: 2/10

Revolution: Historically important but not aging well. Rating: 3/10

Superman: The Escape: Fun, but not worth more than a 45 minute or so wait. Not much to it. Rating: 6/10

Riddlers Revenge: Sweet! I usually hate stand-ups. We thought this one was smooth and interesting, lots of fun. Rating: 8/10

Goliath: I loved this coaster, and Mr. Dek liked it very much. We both greyed out on the helix. It was a truly wonderful steel, and it makes my top 5 steel easily. Rating: 9/10

Overall, we didn't think too much of SFMM, and we actually think our home park, SFGAm, has a better variety of coasters. Maybe our opinion would have been more positive if we had gotten to ride X.

This is where we got even a little more crazy. We drive to KBF in the lovely LA traffic.

We get to Knotts and run right to Xcelerator. Got lucky and only had a half an hour wait. What a ride! The tophat is really intense and we think this ride is going to do a lot of good things for KBF.

Ghostrider: a heck of a wooden coaster. Lots of speed, not enough air for Mr. Dek.

Ratings:

Xcelerator: 9/10

Ghostrider: 8/10

So. we came, we saw, we rode, we conquered. Goliath was my 100th coaster, and Ghostrider was Mr. Dek's 100th coaster.

On the way back to the airport, about 16 hours after we had woke up, I felt rather proud of our whirlwind tour. I'm sure that 99 % of the world would think we are nuts, but I'm guessing that 99% of my fellow buzzers would totally understand our willingness to give up a day in Vegas to stand in the 95 degree heat to get our 100th coaster. Am I right?

DEK

Friday, July 12, 2002 4:38 AM

We rode 2:1. I really liked the ride but I expected a little more; especially air. Maybe we just didn't hit GR at a good time or in the wrong seat. By the time we got to KBF we were very pressed for time (didn't want to miss the flight back to Vegas); so we only got the one ride. Mrs. Dek wanted to ride again but I insisted we leave because of the lovely L.A. traffic. :(

ALEEN6E6

Friday, July 12, 2002 5:56 PM

I think SFMM is a different park during fall (October-December). All of the rides are usually open especially Flashback and the park isn't as crowded. I noticed it to be more clean and the lines shorter. That's why I visit the park much more in the fall.

lbwmobster

Sunday, July 14, 2002 10:44 PM

No wonder. The first time I rode Ghostrider I was a little dissapointed. But it ride the back seat (esspecially at night) you just get blown away, tons of air. Has anyone ever rode it after totally loosening their seat belt on the lift? It's just friggin insane!

----------------- "Excitement, Adventure. A Jedi Craves Not These Things."

*Freak*

Sunday, July 14, 2002 10:57 PM

i was there the same day as you (at SFMM that is)...but i got there at around 11am, so only the problem child coasters werent operating (X, Deja'Vu, Flashback, Ninja)...but i was pretty pissed about Riddler, waited an hour and a half when it should have taken 30min tops. i swear to god if i hear "Equador" by Sash one more time im going to explode...

Speedy

Monday, July 15, 2002 10:53 PM

All my occasional crappy (intensely rough) rides on GhostRider occur in the back so I like sitting in the front to get a MUCH smoother ride. First 4 cars is good, back car is too rough as is the 2nd to last car.